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Summary

Miss Universe Was Crowned & Miss Montana Went Private Online After Calling Competition Rigged

She's stirred the pot between various contestants.

R'Bonney Gabriel crowned Miss Universe. Right: Heather Lee O'Keefe in a red outfit.

R'Bonney Gabriel crowned Miss Universe. Right: Heather Lee O'Keefe in a red outfit.

Florida Associate Editor

Miss Universe was crowned on January 14 and the woman who took the title was none other than Miss Texas USA, R'Bonney Gabriel. The contestant won against all odds, especially after the recent controversy following her Miss USA win.

In October, Miss Montana USA Heather Lee O'Keefe, and many other competitors claimed the event was rigged after Gabriel went on a sponsored solo trip to Nizuc hours after the results were announced.

Gabriel denied the allegations and the Miss Universe organization carried out an investigation to ensure the integrity of the competition.

However, Miss Montana wasn't finished stirring the pot. She previously had public social media accounts and backed up her feelings about her title loss. Since then, she told Narcity that she received "death threats" from the public and friends of Gabriel.

After the recent global beauty pageant, O'Keefe is now private on social media.

Though the reasoning is unclear, the timing of her status change, in addition to TikTok videos uploaded about her behavior by other users, make it seem like Miss Montana is now trying to live a more private life.

Miss Michigan USA 2021 and Big Brother season 24 winner, Taylor Hale, posted a clip to the app firing back at O'Keefe about some of the comments she's been making about her Big Brother co-star Kat Dunn's upload.

Dunn included an audio saying, "don't you feel silly, don't you feel ashamed," with a caption that reads, "@ that girl who made all those TikToks trying to discredit Miss USA only for Miss USA to go on and win Miss Universe."

Miss Montana commented, "feeling stupid, silly, ashamed? For helping uncover alleged sexual assault, misconduct and corruption within an organization?"

Hale replied in a TikTok on her own account with the screenshotted receipts.

"I've spoken publicly about an inappropriate experience that I had with a then co-owner of Miss USA organization...never once in your crusade against the organization did you ever contact me or ask for my permission to share my experience when you were going against Miss USA organization."

When you click on O'Keefe's TikTok, she is now private. She has a personal account on Instagram that is also private. Many fans have been taking notice of her decision.

They are all noting how close the timing seemed to Gabriel taking the Miss Universe stage.

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    • Associate Editor

      Jenna Kelley (she/her) was the Associate Editor for Florida at Narcity Media, where she oversaw all of the editorial content across the Sunshine State. She started her career in broadcast media as a television news reporter for three years. In 2020, Jenna won a Georgia Association of Broadcasters (GABBY) award for Best Online Produced Story. She's covered live concerts, reported at the Masters Tournament, and interviewed state senators during election season. Prior to working at Narcity Media, she made her way home to Florida and launched a copywriting business. Jenna received her B.A. in English with a minor in Communications at Florida State University. She has over five years of experience from print and digital media to radio and television.

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